Method and apparatus for making lace fabric



Sept. 19, 1933. A. F. VERBEEK' 1,927,762

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING LACE FABRIC Inventor ARNOLD FRIEDRICH VERBEEK By his Attorneys Patented Sept 19, 1933 IME'IHOD AND 1,927,762 I I APPARATUS Fon MAKING LACE FABRIC Arnold Friedrich Verbeek, Oberlungwltz, Germany, assignor to Karl Lieberknecht G. m. b. 11., Oberlungwitz, Germany, a corporation of- Germany Application July so, 1932, set-1n No. 626,860, and in Germany August 12, 1931 6 C (Cl- 66-96) This invention relates to method and apparatus for making lace fabric, and more particularly to improvements in the construction and operation of flat knitting machines to adapt them for this p p In the manufacture of mesh lace or net full vfashioned stockings on a flat knitting machine, it has been customary to form an opening in the fabric at desired points, by transferring a loop outwardly from a knitting machine needle to an adjacent needle and transferring an adjacent loop outwardly in the opposite direction to an adjacent needle. when the next course is laid, the new thread adjacent to the empty needles is left loose, and lies behind these empty needles. To close the opening, this loose thread is transferred to one of the adjacent loop-carrying needles, and this loose thread must also be brought in front of one of the empty needles, so that the loops of the next course may intermesh therewith.

Heretofore this loose thread has been brought in front of one of the empty needles, by giving the needle bar a special rearward movement after the delivery of the transferred thread to the adjacent needle. Certain of the needles, which were in engagement with the transfer points used for the transfer operation, were held back thereby, which by bending or springing these needles, threw them out of line with the remaining needles. Hence when the needle bar moved upward, the empty needle adjacent to the needle to which the loose thread had been transferred, came up behind the thread, which was held taut in a sloping position, extending from the other of the originally empty needles to. the needle held by the transfer point.

This expedient caused a severe strain upon the needles, and was unreliable, because a slight decialmovement of the needle bar from, causing a sufficient difference in position of the respective needles to bring the thread in front of one but behind the other of the empty needles. v

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide method and apparatus of thischaracter which avoids the difllculty referred to above, and which is certain in operation.

Another object of the invention is to make lace fabric on a flat knitting machine without requiring a special movement of the knitting needle bar.

Further objects areto simplify and improve the construction and operation of" mechanism for adapting flat knitting machines for making flection of the transfer points preventedthe spe-- lace fabric, and to render the same otherwise well adapted for the purposes set forth.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent as the following description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a diagram. showing two normal courses, the four loops of the last course being respectively carried by four knitting needles, the arrows showing the directions in which the loops as are to be transferred;

Figure 2 is a similar view, showing theloops after transfer;

Figure 3 shows the next course laid, with the thread lying loose behind the empty needles; 70

Figure 4 shows the new step for bring n the loose thread in front of one of the empty needles, by means of an auxiliary needle, without special movement of the knitting needle bar, or excessive be'ndingof the needles;

Figure 5 shows the next course laid in the usual manner;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the novel arrangement including the new auxiliary needle as mounted in the knitting machine;

Figure 7 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing a preferred modification of the auxiliary needle;

Figure 9 is a front elevation of the same; and

Figure 10 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure 9.

Figures 1 to 5 inclusive show the new method of forming the opening for the mesh lace. In these views the loops are carried by knitting needles 1, 2, 3.'and 4. The loose thread of the subsequent course adjacent the empty needles 2 and3isshownat5inFigures3,4and5. The parts of the knitting machine which are pertinent to the invention are shown in Figures 6 and 'l as comprising a transfer point Band the new auxiliary needle 7, which operate be,- tween knocking over .bits 8 and are carried by a transfer bar or lace bar 9, Theconstruction and operation of bars like the bar 9 are well known in the art, in machines having lace bars. An example of such a machine is shown in the patent to Albert Gee, No. 703,055 granted June 4th,-1902. .7

To form the opening for the lace mesh, the loops'on needles 2 and 3 as shown in Figure'l, are transferred outwardly in the direction of the arrows, to needles 1 and 4, as shownin Figure 2. For this purpose, .a transfer point such as. 6 is in practice.

moved down over the needle 2. The transfer pointis grooved to fit over the needle, and press the beard inwardly, so that as the needle and transfer point move down together, the loop is not caught by the beard, but slides .onto the transfer point. The transfer point then moves laterally and descends over the needle 1.. Then the transfer point rises, leaving the loop from the needles 2 now on the needle 1, so that this needle now carries both loops, and needle 2 is empty. A similar transfer operation in the opposite direction transfers the loop from needle 3 to needle 4 which carries both loops, leaving needle 3 empty.

When the next course'is laid, as shown in Figure 3, needles 1 and 4 form normal loops, but as the needles 2 and 3 are empty, they cannot form loops, and hence the thread 5 adjacent these needles lies loose on the knocking over bits 8 behind the needles 2 and 3. This thread 5, in order to close the opening, must be brought in front of one of the empty needles, such as the needle 3.

Heretofore to accomplish this according to a prior method, the thread 5 was transferred to an adjacent needle such as the needle 4, by a transfer point 6. Then the needle bar was givena special'additional rearward movement, which moved the needles 1, 2 and 3, but not the needle 4 which was held forward by the transfer point 6. At this time in the operation of the machine, the loop portion of the thread 5 which was on the transfer point 6, was above the portion which was on the needle 2, because the transfer point 6 had moved upward with this portion of the thread 5 thereon. Hence the thread 5 extended tautly from the needle 2, sloping upward to the transfer point 6. The difference in height as well as alignment of the needle 2 and the transfer point 6 served to bringthe. central portion of this thread 5 in front of the needle 3. Then, when the needle bar moved upward, the needle 3 came up behind the thread 5. The needle bar was then returned from its special additional rearward movement, and the next course wasv laid in the usual manner as shown in Figure 5, because the thread of this next course was now able to intermesh with the thread 5 so as to form the loops over needles 2 and 3.

In the former step as described above, the expedient for getting the thread 5 in front of the needle 3 was not found to be satisfactory The relative displacement of the needles 3 and 4 subjected the needles to repeated excessive bending stresses, which was undesirable in this delicate mechanism. Furthermore, a slight deflection of the transfer point 6 defeated the entire purpose of this step, because the difference in position was not then suflicient to bring the thread in front of the needle 3.

Also, the vertical position of the thread 5 on the transfer point 6 was not always certain. Hence this step could not be depended upon to work accurately.

According to the present invention, a very dif 5 holds the thread 5 in this position.

With this new step, the manufacture of the stocking proceeds up to the point illustrated by Fig. 3. Then the thread 5 is transferred to the needle 4'by the transferpoint 6 as shown in Figure 4. As soon as this thread has been trans ferred, while the thread 5 extending from the needle 2 to the transfer point 6' is lying on the! knocking over bits 8, the beveled edge of the auxiliary needle 7 pushes this thread in front of the needle 3 while all of the knitting needles are moving upwardly. While the auxiliary needles '7 may be mounte and operated in various ways, it is of advantage to mount these auxiliary needles on the lace cated, and are of such length that at the lowest position of the bar 9, the auxiliary needles 7' extend in proximity to the knitting machine needles. The-sword shape permits these auxiliary needles to enter between the knocking over bits 8, and push the thread to the desired position with a sort of cam action of the beveled edge; j

An improved and preferred modification of the needle 'l'is shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10. In this form, the shank of the auxiliary needle 'm'is longer, and the point is provided with a groove 10. The point 11 ofthis form is also beveled laterally, to facilitate the entry thereof between the knocking over bits.

This arrangement permits the auxiliary needle, in the lowest position of the lace or narrowing bar 9, to extend down over the machine needle 3, the point of which enters the groove 10. Thus the front faces of the auxiliary needle and the machine needle form a smooth edge or straight surface along which the thread 5 slides as these needles rise together. Hence there is no possibility of the thread 6 sliding back along the beveled or sword shaped point and over the head of the needle. 3, and thus escaping therebetween to the rear of the needle 3.

The invention is not limited to the exact details disclosed, but instead embraces such embodiments of the disclosed idea as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In the manufacture of lace fabric on a flat knitting machine, the method of closing the opening formed by transferring loops outwardly from a plurality of adjacent needles, which comprises moving the thread which has not been formed into a loop, to aposition in front of one but behind another of said empty needles. while maintaining said needles in alignment.

2. In the manufacture of lace fabric on a fiat knitting machine, the method of closing thev opening formed by transferring loops outwardly from a plurality'of adjacent needles, which comprises laying another course in which the thread adjacent the empty needles is'not formed into loops, but lies loose behind said empty needles, transferring'a portion of loose thread outwardly to an adjacent needle, and moving another portion of said loose thread to a position in front of the nearer empty needle, while maintaining said needles in alignment.

3. In a flat knitting machine adapted for the manufacture of lace fabric, mechanism for closing the opening formed by transferring loops outwardly from a plurality of adjacent needles, comprising an auxiliary needle adapted to move the thread which has not been formed into a loop to a position in front of one of said'needles while maintaining said needles in alignment.

4. In a flat knitting machine adapted for the manufacture of lace fabric, mechanism for completing the outline of the opening formed by transferring loops outwardly from a plurality of needles, comprising means for moving the thread which has not been formed into a loop to a position in front of one of said needles, said means comprising an auxiliary needle carried by the transfer bar and having a beveled lower edge adapted to cam said thread to said position while said needle remains rigid. I

5. In a flat knitting machine having a transfer bar adapted for the manufacture of lace fabric, mechanism for completing the opening formed by transferring loops outwardly from adjacent needles, which comprises an auxiliary needle carried by said transfer bar and having a beveled lower edge adapted to push the thread which has not been formed into a loop forward in front of one of said empty needles, said auxiliary needle having a groove adapted to receive the head of said empty needle and maintain it in alignment with the other needles. 4

6. In a flat knitting machine adapted for the manufacture of lace fabric, and provided with transfer points adapted to form an opening by transferring loops outwardly from a plurality of adjacent needles, in combination with mechanism for discontinuing the opening, including an auxiliary needle carried by the transfer bar and having a beveled lower edge adapted to engage the thread which has not been formed into a loop and which is lying on the knocking over bits, and move the thread to a position in front of one of the machine needles, said auxiliary needle having a. groove adapted to cooperate with a machine needle, the frontfaces of the auxiliary needle and the machine needle forming a smooth surface which slides along the thread as both needles move upwards, and prevents the,

thread from falling behind the machine needle.

c ARNOLD FRIEDRICH VERBEEK. 

